Book · 1977 · Dystopias in literature
Nineteen Eighty-Four
- mentions
- 6
- people
- 4
- podcasts
- 6
- episodes
- 6
- recommendation
- 1
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. And it's such a good line because you're like, wait, what?
Neil Strauss · How I Write · Mar 2024 Listen at 36:53 What they say about it
- Used as a metaphor for totalitarian control“use as a metaphor”3
The best things said about it
He reminds me of that last scene in Orwell's novel with Winston, where he realizes as he disappears into oblivion that he loved Big Brother all along and the party always comes first.
If you want to live in a spy state and you want to live in 1984 or Brave New World and have everything you do have the think police over it.
Jason Calacanis This Week in Startups · May 2026 The sort of the orwellian Orwell um you know totalitarian kind of thing that people use as a metaphor.
Marc Andreessen The Joe Rogan Experience · Jul 2023 Where and when it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
4 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel depicting a totalitarian regime characterized by extreme surveillance, psychological manipulation, and the rewriting of history. The book was referenced across numerous podcasts to illuminate various contemporary and historical issues. On The Ezra Klein Show, Kevin Rudd compared a political figure's absolute loyalty to the final scene of Orwell's novel where Winston embraces Big Brother. On This Week in Startups, Jason Calacanis invoked the book alongside Brave New World to caution against the dangers of a modern spy state and invasive government overreach. On The Joe Rogan Experience, Marc Andreessen discussed how the term Orwellian is widely used as a metaphor for totalitarian control. On How I Write, Neil Strauss highlighted the novel's famous opening line about clocks striking thirteen as a masterclass in hooking readers. On Modern Wisdom, the host cited the book as a prime example of a Lindy book when explaining the Lindy effect regarding the enduring longevity of non-perishable intellectual goods. Finally, on Breaking Points, a host suggested reading a related journalistic text while discussing the persistent theme that news and media narratives have a long history of manipulation and fabrication, implicitly echoing Orwellian concerns about truth and public perception.
Every mention
Jason Calacanis So, if you want to live in a spy state and you want to live in 1984 or Brave New World and have everything… 1
“So, if you want to live in a spy state and you want to live in 1984 or Brave New World and have everything you do have the think police over it.”
Kevin Rudd In fact, he reminds me of that last scene in Orwell's novel with Winston, where he realizes as he disappear… 1
“In fact, he reminds me of that last scene in Orwell's novel with Winston, where he realizes as he disappears into oblivion that he loved Big Brother all along and the party always comes first.”
Marc Andreessen the sort of the orwellian Orwell um you know totalitarian kind of thing that people use as a metaphor 1
“the sort of the orwellian Orwell um you know totalitarian kind of thing that people use as a metaphor”
Neil Strauss It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. And it's such a good line because… 1
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. And it's such a good line because you're like, wait, what?”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker2
“Now rewind to Vietnam; all the people who feel nostalgic have this Cronkite book behind me. People should go and read it because the news has always been fake; it's just that now you know it's fake.”
“So Lindy the Lindy effect is a metal model which describes the degradation of non-perishable goods and services I think it's just like items essentially so for instance nineteen eighty-four is a Lindy book”
Other mentions (9: passing, ad reads, own books)
“Orwell was right I hate to say it Orwell was right and a good writer”
“every record has been destroyed or falsified every book Rewritten”
“You should write books like George Orwell You're good at that kind of thing”
“Orwell wrote about this in one of his books I may have missed”
“There was a great tweet that encapsulated this—it’s like we've merged George Orwell with Iran, where Elon Musk, the heroic entrepreneur, tries to rescue freedom of speech, while simultaneously, an Orwellian ministry of truth is being created by the federal government.”
“So many few people know that like the author of 1984, George Orwell, traveled to Spain on the premise that every single decent person should kill one fascist and then killed a bunch of fascists with grenades.”
“all the nightmare dystopia stuff has always been like cyberpunk and eighty-four fanatical 451”
“- "Nineteen Eighty-Four" event.”
“i mean that's the orwell [ __ ] right”